What They Are Reading in the States: More than 4 Million Student Loan Borrowers Enrolled in New Biden-Harris Administration SAVE Plan

Across the country, local news outlets are highlighting the number of student loan borrowers in each state who have enrolled in the Biden-Harris Administration’s new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.
 
This week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that more than 4 million student loan borrowers nationwide – thousands in each state – are enrolled in the SAVE plan. This includes those who were transitioned from the previous Revised Pay As You Earn – or REPAYE – Plan.
 
The most affordable repayment plan ever, the SAVE plan will save millions of borrowers money on their monthly payments. Borrowers who earn less than $15 an hour will not be required to make payments, and anyone who does earn more will save more than $1000 on payments. The SAVE Plan also ensures that borrowers never see their balance grow due to unpaid interest as long as they keep up with their payments.
 
Read a sampling of the coverage below:
 
Scripps News: Millions of college loan holders have enrolled in the SAVE Plan
More than 4 million borrowers have enrolled in the SAVE Plan to pay back their student loans, according to a Tuesday release from the Department of Education. The SAVE Plan is an income-driven repayment plan. Borrowers who make more than about $15 an hour and enroll in the plan are expected to save about $1,000 more a year compared to other income-based repayment options. Borrowers who make less than the $15 an hour threshold won’t have to make payments on their debt.
 
The Detroit News: 143,600 Michigan borrowers enroll in Biden’s student loan repayment plan
The Biden administration says 143,600 student loan borrowers from Michigan are among 4 million who have enrolled in a new repayment plan that’s meant to lower their monthly bills, though Republican lawmakers plan to challenge it. President Joe Biden rolled out the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) earlier this summer after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked his plans for mass student loan forgiveness in June.
 
Detroit Free Press: Thousands of Michigan student loan borrowers already signed up for new SAVE payment plan
In Michigan, some 143,600 student loan borrowers already are set up to reduce their monthly payments through the brand new SAVE income-driven repayment plan, according to information released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education. The figure reflects both those who signed up on their own and those who were automatically shifted over from an earlier income-driven repayment plan, called REPAYE.
 
WANF (CBS Atlanta, Georgia): SAVE plan could lower costs for student loan debt
The White House recently introduced the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, as federal student loan payments are set to resume Oct. 1. Eligible borrowers can enroll in this income-driven repayment plan to lower monthly bills and reduce the amount paid over the life of the student loan. Once the plan is phased in, some people will see their monthly bills cut in half and the remaining debt canceled after making at least 10 years of payments.
 
WTOC (CBS Savannah, Georgia): Biden-Harris SAVE Plan aiming to create affordable options for student loan borrowers
A new plan by the Biden-Harris administration will allow those who have student loans enroll in a new program that could save them thousands of dollars. The application is on studentaid.gov and four million people have already signed up with about 180,000 in Georgia and 81,600 in South Carolina. Depending on how much money you borrowed for school, officials say the SAVE program will help some people’s payment down to $0 and save others around a $1,000 per year.
 
WKOW (ABC Madison, Wisconsin): 4 million borrowers enroll in Biden SAVE plan as student loan repayments resume this fall
Many Americans waited to see if President Biden’s debt cancellation policy would go into effect, but a US Supreme Court decision struck down the plan earlier this summer…However, the Department of Education seeks other ways to provide relief through President Biden’s SAVE plan. Since its inception, more than 4 million student loan borrowers have actively enrolled in the income-based repayment.
 
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Latest federal student loan program already attracts 170K Pennsylvanians
Those enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, can save about $1,000 a year, James Kvaal, the undersecretary of education, said Tuesday. “Student loans shouldn’t push you deeper into poverty,” he said on a conference call with reporters. With payments on student loans scheduled to resume in October after being suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, the SAVE plan represents the most recent effort by President Joe Biden to reduce the debt burden for millions of college graduates.
 
NY1 (Spectrum News New York): 4 million are signed up for new Biden student loan repayment plan
More than 4 million borrowers are now enrolled in a new income-driven student loan repayment plan that could save them over a $1,000 a year, the Biden administration said Tuesday. The Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan does not require borrowers who earn less than $15 an hour to make payments, and those who earn more will save more than $1,000 a year on their payments compared to other income-driven plans, officials said. Borrowers also are assured their balances won’t grow from unpaid interest.
 
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa): Nearly 40,000 Iowans have enrolled in Biden’s new student loan repayment plan
Nearly 40,000 Iowans have enrolled in President Joe Biden’s new income-driven repayment plan that promises a lower monthly bill and a shorter path to loan forgiveness, the White House announced Tuesday… In all, more than 4 million student loan borrowers had signed up for the program since its soft rollout July 30. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan officially launched Aug. 22, ahead of expiration of the pandemic pause on payments and interest at the end of September. When borrowers resume making payments in October — some for the first time ever — many could see a lower payment, or even no payment, White House officials said.
 
Nevada Current: 35,300 Nevadans enrolled in new student loan repayment program
More than 35,000 federal student loan borrowers in Nevada are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. Nationally, more than 4 million borrowers are enrolled. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, and the Supreme Court’s summer decision to strike down the White House’s one-time debt relief program, the Department of Education has rolled out several repayment and loan forgiveness programs. One of those initiatives is the Saving on A Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan that for some borrowers could result in no monthly payments.
 
WVEC (ABC Norfolk, Virginia): More than 100,000 Virginians with student loan debt sign up for SAVE
More than four million student loan borrowers have signed up for a new U.S. Department of Education repayment plan to get some debt relief.  That includes 104,000 in Virginia alone. The Biden administration unveiled the SAVE plan in June. SAVE, which stands for “Saving on A Valuable Education,” is an income-driven plan that means borrowers making less than $15 an hour won’t have to make payments on their loans. That debt may eventually be forgiven after a certain period of time.
 
KTVK/KPHO (CBS Phoenix, Arizona): 87,000 Arizonans enroll for ‘SAVE’ student loan payment plan; is it right for you?
With student loan payments continuing in October, the Biden Administration and the Department of Education have rolled out a new income-driven repayment plan called “SAVE.” SAVE is short for “Saving on a Valuable Education’” and the feds say the goal with this repayment option is to significantly lower monthly student loan payments to potentially zero dollars. Like all income-driven repayment plans, it takes your discretionary income and calculates it with a percentage of the federal poverty line to result in your monthly payments. While most income-driven repayment plans use 150% of the federal poverty line, the SAVE plan uses 225%.
 
The Salt Lake Tribune: Utahns with student loans could see $0 monthly payments under new SAVE Plan
More than 30,000 Utahns have enrolled in the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan since it launched two weeks ago, according to White House data released Tuesday. The new “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE) Plan aims to lower monthly student loan payments and could affect 20 million borrowers annually. It’s income-driven, meaning a borrower’s payback amount is based on their monthly income.

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